Hillsborough Fire Rescue lieutenant and his wife arrested for sexually assaulting children

A Hillsborough Fire Rescue lieutenant and his wife were arrested on charges of committing sex crimes against children in their home, the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office reported Friday.

Sascha Engel, 39, and his wife Alyssa Engel, 37, are both charged with three counts of sexual abuse of a minor. They were both arrested Thursday and were still being held without bail Friday morning, records show.

Sheriff's officials said they learned of allegations in April that the couple sexually abused a 16-year-old boy at their Riverview home.

According to an affidavit, the abuse occurred in March when the teenager was staying overnight at the couple's home. Alyssa Engel had sexual contact with the teenager while Sascha Engel ordered the acts, the affidavit states.

Alyssa Engel worked as a legal assistant for the Hillsborough District Attorney's Office from May 2018 to April 2019 and again from June 2019 to May 2021. According to a spokesperson for the office, she left the office both times of her own volition.

Hillsborough District Attorney Suzy Lopez has excluded her office from the prosecution because Alyssa Engel previously worked there. Florida Governor DeSantis has assigned both cases to the district attorney's office in the 10th District, which includes Polk County.

The county placed Sascha Engel on paid administrative leave effective May 24 after learning he was under criminal investigation, county spokesman Chris Wilkerson said in an email Friday. Engel was placed on unpaid leave after his arrest, Wilkerson said.

“Currently, the county’s human resources department is following its normal procedure to initiate disciplinary action,” Wilkerson said.

The county hired Engel as a firefighter in January 2004. He was promoted to firefighter paramedic in 2015 and to lieutenant in 2020.

“It is both disgusting and deeply disappointing to see not one, but two adults conspiring to take advantage of a young child, especially when one of those adults is a trusted authority in our community,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a press release. “This egregious violation of innocence is scandalous and goes against all the values ​​we stand for in this community.”